Burlington County, New Jersey businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist Henry (Hank) M. Rowan, the man who
founded an international corporation, contributed
generously to numerous causes and changed the face of
higher education in South Jersey, passed away on Dec. 9,
2015. He was 92 years old.

Mr. Rowan, a native of Ridgewood, New Jersey, was
founder and chairman of Rancocas-based Inductotherm
Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of melting,
thermal processing and production systems for the metals and materials industry.

He started the firm with his late wife, Betty Long Rowan, in 1953, building their first furnace in their backyard in Ewing Township, New Jersey. Initially, his main goal was to enable foundries to reduce the cost of melting metal with induction, and Mr. Rowan and his staff became true innovators, changing the face of the entire industry. Today, the Inductotherm Group and its sister companies employ more than 3,500 people in more than 20 nations and serve customers around the globe.

While renowned as a businessman and entrepreneur, Mr. Rowan did not stop there, nor did his impact. Since 1992, Mr. Rowan’s name has been synonymous with higher education. It was in that year that he and his late wife donated $100 million to then-Glassboro State College with just one request: revitalize engineering education.

Although he was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mr. Rowan was committed to investing his money in a school and a region where he believed it could have the most impact. The Rowan Gift was the largest to date given to a public college or university in the United States.

Hank Rowan with Clark and Rick Dhein

In 1992, the board of trustees of the college changed the name of GSC to Rowan College (and it became Rowan University in 1997, when it offered its first doctoral program). In 1996, Rowan University opened its doors to its first class of engineering students. Today, the award-winning engineering college offers bachelor’s through doctoral programs in five disciplines and is adding a new building to enable it to double its enrollment to about 2,000 students. The donation by Mr. and Mrs. Rowan directly and indirectly led to remarkable growth at the university, which today is designated by the State of New Jersey as a research institution and is one of only two schools in the nation with both M.D.- and D.O.-degree granting medical schools.

In December 2014, the Henry M. Rowan Family Foundation committed $15 million to Rowan University’s College of Engineering, which was named the Henry M. Rowan College of
Engineering.

Mr. Rowan and his family have been generous to numerous organizations beyond the University. Among more recent donations, in 2008 he gave $20 million to what is now known as the Williamson College of the Trades in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In 2014, Mr. Rowan funded the purchase of a building for the South Jersey chapter of Boy Scouts of America to expand its Westampton headquarters. Mr. and Mrs. Rowan had funded the construction of the Scouts’ original facility there in the 1980s. In 2015, Mr. Rowan and his wife, Lee, personally committed $17 million to the Doane Academy in Burlington City.

Many organizations honored Mr. Rowan for his commitment to business and community. Among his awards were the George Washington Medal Award from the Engineer’s Club of Philadelphia (1992); Outstanding Engineer for the Year Award (1994) and a Lifetime Achievement Award (1995) from the Professional Engineering Society of Southern New Jersey,

Inc.; the AFS William J. Grede Award (1995); a Distinguished Service Award from the Consulting Engineers Council of New Jersey (1997); the William Hunt Eisenman Award, Philadelphia Chapter, American Society of Metals (ASM) International (1997); induction into the prestigious National Academy of Engineering (1998); induction into the Hall of Honor, Foundry Management & Technology magazine’s highest award (2003); and most recently the Distinguished Life Membership Award from ASM International (2014).

One of his most visible honors stands on Rowan University’s Glassboro campus: a seven-foot bronze sculpture of Mr. Rowan unveiled in December 2012, two decades after the $100-million gift.

In 1941, Mr. Rowan attended Williams College for a year and then transferred to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) upon his acceptance into its engineering program. The program was interrupted by World War II, and he enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet and trained to become a bomber pilot, flying B-17s and B-29s, though the war ended before he could fly in combat. He returned to MIT to earn his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

Among his many interests, Mr. Rowan was an avid pilot and sailor who was a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame and who competed in the 1992 Olympic Star Class sailboat racing trials in Miami. He published his autobiography, “The Fire Within” in 1995.

The son of the late Dr. Henry M. Rowan Sr. and Margaret Frances Boyd Rowan, Mr. Rowan also was predeceased by his first wife, Betty; his sons, James and David; and two of his siblings, Margaret and William.

Services will be held after the first of the year. Rowan University will hold a memorial service at a later date. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, any donations be made in Mr. Rowan’s name to the American Foundry Society and the Lake George Land Conservancy.

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Reflections from Rick Dhein

Hank started sailing Stars sometime in the 1960’s at Northern Lake George Yacht Club with his wife Betty. It was a large and very competitive fleet. In a relatively short period of time Hank was at the top of the fleet. He holds the record for the highest number of Star Fleet Championships.

All of Hank’s ten Star boats were named “Riot”. When he was a youngster he was at a summer camp and one of the row boats was named “Riot”. He thought it was a good name for a boat. He sold almost all of his Star boats (at a reasonable price) to a new Star sailor or to someone who needed an upgrade at NLGYC. He thought it was important to set new Star sailors into the fleet and keep it competitive. Hank’s influence in Star sailing at NLGYC was very high. An example is that my father, Del Dhein, crewed for Hank in the Star for over ten years. Hank got me into Star sailing when he sold me my first star #6419. As a result my son, Clark, is also a Star sailor. That is three generations of Star sailors at Northern Lake George.
Hank thought it was important to support the US Star boat builders and only his last two were built outside of the US.
He represented the NLGYC Star fleet regionally and all over the US. Bacardi was a favorite and the arrangement was that Betty and Lari (my mom) would drive the Star down to Miami and back and Hank and Del would fly in one of Hank’s planes.

Hank sailed Stars up until a few years ago and was still competitive on the race course. He will be missed by Star sailors and others at NLGYC, but his influence will live on forever!

Happy Sailing Hank!

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Reflections by Rick Burgess

Hank and I first met on the race course in Lake Hopatcong 45 plus years ago. That meeting was in the protest room, Hank won and I lost. Several years later in Nassau we got to learn a little more about each other and a lifelong friendship started.

Hank and I sailed together (mostly in the winter) for at least 30 years including the infamous “Hank Who” race in the 1973 Worlds in San Diego. Our first worlds together, the first race of the event and guess what? Hank won!

Hank loved to compete in the Star and really enjoyed sailing in his beloved Northern Lake George Club. Hank always had time to share both time and parts for all who needed. When the US Sailing Center in Miami was proposed, Hank was right there offering his financial support.

Hank will be missed but not forgotten.

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A True Champion. by Janet Lawrence, LG

When I first started sailing a Star, my sister Libby and I sailed my dad’s old boat, Strawberry II.

She, Strawberry, had been one of Henry Rowan’s former boats, one of the “Riots”. Mr. Rowan knew Strawberry was fast. Lib and I were finishing toward the back of the fleet pretty routinely and still getting our feet wet, so to speak. Mr. Rowan had been for a long time and still was, our club champion and the pride of our fleet and the district. He was a very competitive and serious sailor who never missed a race and never gave up a single boat length no matter how far ahead he was. He was always learning and working to be the best sailor he could be.

One day Mr. Rowan came up to me in the parking lot before a race and said he was going to CREW FOR ME that day!!! He was giving up a race to come out with me and really “show me the ropes”! I was honored and nervous and anxious to learn everything I could from him. It was intimidating but he couldn’t have been more kind. It was a light wind day and made it hard to experiment with sail shape quite the way we had wanted but I still learned lots from him. We talked about the typical wind patterns and angles. We strategized about how far to go on flyers. We messed with the tuning of my boat. He was fun, generous and kind.

Mr. Henry Rowan was and is our all- time club champion in every sense, a True Champion.